In Redfall, only the host makes story progress
Redfall is designed to be played solo or in co-op, and it looks like some concessions had to be made.
Before last week's Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, the structure of Redfall wasn't very clear. We knew it was a co-op, open-world vampire hunting game. Now that we've seen actual gameplay, however, everything is clicking into place.
Developer Arkane has been revealing more and more about Redfall since, including how co-op is going to work.
In an interview with IGN, creative director Harvey Smith revealed how Redfall is going to handle co-op progression. This is something every game treats differently, and there's typically no golden answer.
Smith confirmed that in a co-op game, only the host of that session will be making story progress. In other words, you'll have to go back to your own game and replay the same mission again to progress your own story.
The good news, however, is that loot and character progression is carried over, so you get to take your new gear back to your game. Smith did not say how the game will address any potential imbalance that creates.
The reason for this decision, according to Smith, is that Redfall is an open-world game where you can go anywhere. By allowing story progress to be reflected for every player, Arkane would have needed to split the story into certain chunks and remove that freedom.
He also added that it helps the game's story be more cohesive, as everyone will have to experience all the same missions regardless of how they choose to play the game. Arkane, after all, sees Redfall as a traditional Arkane single-player experience.
Redfall launches in the first half of 2023 on PC, and Xbox Series X/S. It's coming to Game Pass on day one. You can watch the full interview below.
